How Many Anchors?

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Tom,
Some (like me) would lean toward a properly maintained and used nylon rode. Can't imagine my 5/8ths Brait rode "parting". Spoze it could though if an octipus chewed on it.
 
"Can't imagine my 5/8ths Brait rode "parting"."

Just leave it in the sun long enough.
 
We bought a new dingy last summer, Zodiac Zoom Aero 260. (Good little dingy, we're very happy with it, the oarlocks haven't broken, pretty tough, rides well with a 4 hp Yamaha.) However, after sitting in the sun for a total of seven months (three months last summer, four months this summer) the nylon webbing strap in the middle of the floor completely dissolved to pieces. It was as if I dipped it in sulfuric acid or something, just deteriorated to bits. FF is right, depending on the material it's shocking how U/V rays can destroy some things really quickly.

(I was never quite sure what that strap was for anyway so we don't miss it, but even so, we have a cover for the dingy now. Odd that Zodiac would use a material that so quickly dissolves under U/V rays.)
 
sunchaser said:
Marty am I reading this right - one anchor lost due to no bitter end final attachment and rope rodes parting? If so a properly affixed all chain rode would have prevented both problems.
Click to expand...

Just a thought. If you have all chain and it is shackled to the boat, you cannot slip your rode if you have to. Had a three boat raft up come at me in a squall. Almost had to slip the rode. I have 40 feet of yellow polypropylene between the last link of chain and the dead bolt in the anchor locker. I have sharp knife in a sheath attached to the anchor locker bulkhead. If I ever have to slip the rode I can cut the poly pro and it will float up so that when the confusion is over I can go back and retrieve my chain. At least that is the plan. Hope never to have to test it though. If you have a rope rode and not all chain, it is still handy to have a knife in the anchor locker to cut the rode free.
 
Two - plow and Danforth with separate rodes
 
FF said:
"Can't imagine my 5/8ths Brait rode "parting"."

Just leave it in the sun long enough.
Click to expand...

It's in a box on the foredeck. You're the only one I know that keeps their anchor out in the sun. Do you cover it like RV's cover their tires?
 
sunchaser said:
Marty am I reading this right - one anchor lost due to no bitter end final attachment and rope rodes parting? If so a properly affixed all chain rode would have prevented both problems.
Click to expand...

Clarification. The anchor with the all chain rode was lost at sea. A heavy anchor and 300 feet of BBB line free fell into several thousand feet of ocean. The owner considered himself fortunate that the weight of the anchor and chain in free fall snapped the 3/4" nylon line tied to the bitter end and did not damage the boat.
 
sunchaser said:
Marty am I reading this right - one anchor lost due to no bitter end final attachment and rope rodes parting? If so a properly affixed all chain rode would have prevented both problems.
Click to expand...

As to the rope rodes parting, this is not uncommon in the Eastern Caribbean. It is not unusual in fact to pull up an abandoned anchor that was lost this way.
Coral or rubble bottoms do not do well with rope rodes.
 
If you have all chain and it is shackled to the boat, you cannot slip your rode if you have to.
Click to expand...
Why not? Using a properly sized snap shackle in the system as the release mechanism, it is a helluva lot quicker than sawing a poly rode. And if you are using a snubber properly, there is no tension involved regardless.

Rope rodes part due to chafe in sustained bad conditions if not protected (both at the boat and near the bottom). It can happen fast. Heck, even with what I thought was good protection we darn near ate through one leg of a 3/4" snubber bridle over the course of a bad night.
 
As to chaff on my nylon line rode I receintly removed 50' of 5/8ths Brait line and substituted 50' of 9/16ths three strand. I plan on doing that every year or two in the future. Most Willard 30's use 1/2" line.
 
Reading this thread with much interest as I'm trying to decide to go with an all chain rode or not for my Prairie 36. Anchoring grounds will be East Coast Intracoastal, Great Loop, and maybe Bahamas.
 
FOG,
It's so shallow out there a combination rode may mean you could anchor most of the time w about 100-125' of chain and 200' of line. You'd not often get any line out so you'd be on all chain w/o having to carry much. And you'd have a lot of options if the engine quit to keep off the beach or rocks.
 
Fog. I cruise the same areas and I use all chain which has many advantages and few disadvantages other than weight. Your size boat can use a smaller link if it is HT just make sure your capstan can handle the size chain. You will need to learn to use a snubber.

Best of luck.
 
Thanks guys. Had all chain and a couple of snubbers on my sailboats in SoCal and never had an issue. So that's what I was leaning toward. But since I'm new to the trawler world, East coast, Great Lakes, etc. just thought I'd check in with the experts.
 
I have sailed the South East and Bahamas for 15 years and only ever had three.

Two actual anchors that would hold the boat.

And the missus, who is my life anchor!

(Yeah she reads these).
 
menzies said:
I have sailed the South East and Bahamas for 15 years and only ever had three.

Two actual anchors that would hold the boat.

And the missus, who is my life anchor!

(Yeah she reads these).
Click to expand...

Born diplomat eh..? ;)
 
"Life anchor"

I'm going to steal that but I'm sure it won't get me any points as she won't believe me anyway. LOL
 
FOG said:
Thanks guys. Had all chain and a couple of snubbers on my sailboats in SoCal and never had an issue. So that's what I was leaning toward. But since I'm new to the trawler world, East coast, Great Lakes, etc. just thought I'd check in with the experts.
Click to expand...
Let us know when you find an anchoring expert.......:D
 
An anchoring expert. A guy with a boat with an anchor on the bow carrying a briefcase 300 miles from home.
 
Nomad Willy said:
FOG,
It's so shallow out there a combination rode may mean you could anchor most of the time w about 100-125' of chain and 200' of line. You'd not often get any line out so you'd be on all chain w/o having to carry much. And you'd have a lot of options if the engine quit to keep off the beach or rocks.
Click to expand...

I agree with Nomad Willy. We cruise the east coast extensively. 150 feet chain and 200 feet rode. Most of the time we are on all chain.
 
Nomad Willy said:
As to chaff on my nylon line rode I receintly removed 50' of 5/8ths Brait line and substituted 50' of 9/16ths three strand. I plan on doing that every year or two in the future. Most Willard 30's use 1/2" line.
Click to expand...

Interestingly, Bob Smith who invented the Danforth anchor was a fan of very light rodes. It was his claim that it reduced the shock loads becasue the rode would stretch. He cruised the Atlantic coast for decades in a 40 foot sailboat with a short length of chain (8-10 feet?) and 1/4 inch nylon rode.
 
tadhana said:
Interestingly, Bob Smith who invented the Danforth anchor was a fan of very light rodes. It was his claim that it reduced the shock loads becasue the rode would stretch. He cruised the Atlantic coast for decades in a 40 foot sailboat with a short length of chain (8-10 feet?) and 1/4 inch nylon rode.
Click to expand...

Quarter inch!? Might as well use my shoelaces.
 
With trawlers we're very prone to extreme overkill.

I wouldn't go forth w a 1/4" rode but think of the length of rode I could have. Most Willards use 1/2" and I have 5/8ths. What for I suppose I should wonder. And one of my best anchors is a very small Danforth (13lbs). It's easy to say "Ive got a 50lb Super Duper anchor and 400' all chain rode".
 
Fortress only recommends a minimum of 6 feet of chain for every 25 feet of water depth.

They even say shorten up on scope when having trouble setting in soft mud as the chain sinking lower may be reversing the fluke pull.

This is also interesting from the fortress website, often discussed but hadn't seen anyone post it yet...it suggests what hp to use based on boat and horsepower to simulate 30 or 35 knot winds and the estimated pull.
 

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Nomad Willy said:
FOG,
It's so shallow out there a combination rode may mean you could anchor most of the time w about 100-125' of chain and 200' of line. You'd not often get any line out so you'd be on all chain w/o having to carry much. And you'd have a lot of options if the engine quit to keep off the beach or rocks.
Click to expand...

:thumb::thumb:

On a lighter note and to keep this thread alive, may I suggest -

To stay off the beach, have twin engines to go along with your 3 or 4 anchors! Nothing like redundancy.
 
The key to anchoring with very light weight anchors is to remember its a light weight anchoring SYSTEM.

Too heavy an anchor rode causes more problems than the chafe it is resisting .,

Note that 3/8 line takes over 3000lbs to break , hardly what most folks will ever see in a lifetime of over night anchoring.

breaking strength and safe load for nylon rope: Rope DiameterMinimum Breaking StrengthSafe Load
(Safety Factor 12)Weight (in)(mm)(lbf)(kN)(lbf)(kN)(lbm/ft)(kg/m) 3/16 5 880 3.91 73.3 0.326 0.009 0.013 1/4 6 1486 6.61 124 0.551 0.016 0.023 5/16 8 2295 10.2 191 0.851 0.025 0.036 3/8 10 3240 14.4 270 1.20 0.036 0.053 7/16 11 4320 19.2 360 1.60 0.048 0.071 1/2 12 5670 25.2 473 2.10 0.063 0.094 9/16 14 7200 32.0 600 2.67 0.080 0.119 5/8 16 8910 39.6 743 3.30 0.099 0.147 3/4 18 12780 56.8 1070 4.76 0.143 0.213 7/8 22 17280 76.9 1440 6.41 0.195 0.290 1 24 22230 98.9 1850 8.23 0.253 0.377
 
I've never had much faith in light weight anchors, I much prefer an anchor one or two sizes over what the manufacturer calls for especially in high winds with a chain rode. With a heavy rode you might not even need the anchor. LOL. Our navy uses heavy anchors on their large ships.

Just my SSO.
 
FF said:
The key to anchoring with very light weight anchors is to remember its a light weight anchoring SYSTEM.

Too heavy an anchor rode causes more problems than the chafe it is resisting .,

Note that 3/8 line takes over 3000lbs to break , hardly what most folks will ever see in a lifetime of over night anchoring.

Exactly! The stretch of the rode mitigates shock loads. This 3/8 might not be appropriate for a storm anchor but for seasonal coastal cruising it makes for a good "system." The same theory applies to dock lines. Heavy dock lines have limited shock absorbing ability and every load on the boat is transferred to the boat cleat and the dock cleat as an impact.
Click to expand...
 
sunchaser said:
:thumb::thumb:

On a lighter note and to keep this thread alive, may I suggest -

To stay off the beach, have twin engines to go along with your 3 or 4 anchors! Nothing like redundancy.
Click to expand...

Sunchaser,
Look back in the archives and you'll see I've always been supportive of twin engines. Over and over again. Still think twins are better.
 
Twins have their disadvantages such as fuel and maintenance costs but for those of us that may travel long distances appreciate the redundancy of twins.
 
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